This invention relates generally to secure containers for household use, and in particular to portable secure containers for alcoholic beverages, medicines, and related products. Specifically, the invention concerns a transparent, secure container configured to accommodate a variety of standard multiple-unit retail packages, including standard retail beverage packages for beer, wine and liquor, or other consumer products not legally purchased by minors.
Liquor stores, supermarkets, and other beverage retailers commonly merchandise alcoholic beverages to consumers in disposable cardboard containers, cans, and glass or plastic bottles. These containers fall into a number of standard configurations, depending upon the size of the individual beverage units (such as bottles or cans), and the number of units in each package (whether one individual package, or a multiple-unit package for holding six, nine, twelve, twenty-four, thirty, or another number of individual units).
These standard retail packages perform a number of functions, including storage, portability, display and marketing. Once a package has left its point of sale, however, and particularly after it has been opened, the package does not provide substantial security against unauthorized access. To the contrary, standard six-packs, returnable cases, and low-profile “fridge packs” are designed primarily for visibility and accessibility, not security. There is thus a need for a secure container that restricts access to certain consumer products by underage, incompetent, or otherwise unauthorized persons, while retaining the storage, portability, display and marketing functions of the products' standard retail packaging.